Judging Online Sportsbooks by Payout Speed

When playing with an online sportsbook, there is nothing more important than having full confidence you will be paid come withdrawal time.

A sportsbook that cannot honor player withdrawals on-time and without hassle is not worth its salt, and should not be considered among the upper echelon of online sports betting websites.

So, what is a reasonable amount of time to be paid?

It's simple: It starts with the advertised time-frame. When making a redemption on Amazon or shopping at an online outlet, and choosing the delivery options which each provide an estimate that the package will be delivered, a consumer has reasonable confidence that the time-frame will be honored.

Of course, there are exceptions, but over the long-haul and the overwhelming majority of the time, the time-frames are met, or else consumers shop elsewhere.

The same applies with online sportsbooks. A betting company that quotes a week to pay should pay in a week or adjust their payment window if forces outside of their control make their betting average closer to 0 than 100.

Below are rough averages of payout timescales that can be an indicator of the quality of online sports betting websites, and which greatly contribute to the sportsbook rating.

24 hours or less
The best sportsbooks are able to process withdrawals for $5,000 or more within a 24-hour period, whether through bitcoin, Skrill, Neteller, or other method.

1-3 days
Sportsbooks that take 1-3 days to issue payouts are still among the best, especially if the time-frames are consistently honored.

4-7 days
Still very good. Players who can get paid within a week and are happy with their online betting site have no need to hit the panic button.

1-2 weeks
Getting paid between one and two weeks from your request isn't the worst, but it certainly isn't the best, and players should be aware that there are better options out there.

2 weeks or more
An online sportsbook that cannot pay consistently prior to two weekshas work to do. The business may not be a scam and in fact could be a solid shop for players, but the competition is miles ahead at this point.

4 weeks or more
There is significant concern with sports betting sites that cannot manage to pay players in a month from the time of their request. An example is Sportsbook.com (SBR rating D-), a blacklisted website, which takes a minimum of 8 weeks to pay on a good day.